Embrace
by chaos-entropy
Summary: Based on a prompt from the kink meme. Carlos is 'hugged' by Cecil's alternate form after coming back to Night Vale, feeling significantly downhearted. Basically this is just Cecilos hugging fluff of the highest order. Enjoy!


"You're back!"

Carlos looked behind him for the source of the voice. He hadn't _expected _Cecil to be home, but it was a nice surprise. The scientist clutched a briefcase in his left hand, a travel duffel bag over his back, and an oversized folder tucked in under his other arm.

His work had only taken him out of Night Vale for three days, but the amount of paperwork the City Council had wanted was maddening. Driving out of the city when his permit to travel was finally approved, Carlos had immediately felt a yearning to drive back that only grew stronger with every mile he drove away from the small city.

This melancholy had only increased at the symposium. Carlos had found himself too anxious to compose himself to even _talk _about the strange things that went on in Night Vale.

During dinner with fellow graduates from his university, Carlos had found himself so tongue-tied on the subject of what he'd been doing for the past year and a half since graduating with his Master's that he could only blurt out: "I moved to California and I fell in love." Nothing about Night Vale's strange clocks, the town refusal to acknowledge mountains, elements in the soil that were completely at odds with everything else in the southern Californian desert. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't bring it up.

The scientist had made plans to leave early. He _missed _Night Vale so much, out of some bizarre sentimentality that whispered in his ear to come back home. People loved him there, people wanted him to come home so they could embrace him with open arms. He was sacrificing attending a panel with one of his favourite academic writers, but the homesickness had gotten too much to bear after two days.

Driving back to Night Vale had taken the weight off his shoulders. When he saw the familiar sign, the hooded figure sat in the toll booth, and the town hall, he knew he was home. He may have felt emotionally shattered over the last few days, but the sight of his new home took the edge off. Somewhat.

"I can help!" The radio host had almost skipped over to his boyfriend's car, bringing Carlos out of his reverie.

Despite his joy at being back in Night Vale, Carlos still felt a distinct... sadness in him. He'd come back somewhere that was as terrifying as it was exciting. But it was the only place he could really call home. Its irresistible draw had wrapped its way around his heart and twisted his thinking – his mother was happy with just the occasional phone call or Facebook message, and both his parents knew he couldn't be expected to travel to Nevada every Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter. Carlos' twin brother in Sacramento didn't need to visit, and his friends from university could simply stay in touch with him over the Internet. Carlos just felt so _safe_ here. Safe from distractions, safe from forced social interactions and obligations. Why would he ever want to leave Night Vale?

But at the same time, why couldn't he bring himself to leave? People were supposed to move on from town to town throughout their lives. He'd moved around a lot as a kid, but he'd never felt a longing for the various suburbs he'd played in as a child. It might be nice to go and see them again, but it wasn't wrenching his heart to think of having ever left them. Maybe that's why people so rarely left Night Vale. There was something in the water, perhaps? He would definitely have to look into it.

"No, I'm good." Carlos said, shutting the trunk.

Cecil was almost bouncing on his heels. "No, I _insist_," he put his hand over Carlos', extricating the briefcase from his grip. "I missed you, you know."

Of course he would have. Carlos' phone rarely went a day without a text or a phone call from Cecil, even after they had moved in together. During his stay at the conference, he had pretended that nothing was wrong in their texts, and always kept the phone calls brief. "I missed you too." Carlos replied, heading to the front door with him. As Cecil fumbled with the key card to get into their apartment, Carlos briefly wondered if he should bring up how much he missed Night Vale at the same time.

Stepping over the threshold, Carlos still couldn't quite shake off the melancholy. Did Night Vale do this to all of its residents, or was he just an anomaly?

Cecil put the briefcase down on the hall table, moving behind Carlos to shut the front door. Leaving it slightly off the latch, of course – just in case the Secret Police needed access.

"Cecil?" Carlos asked. He wasn't quite sure if this was an appropriate time to bring up the question, and he wasn't sure if Cecil would entirely understand his feelings at the moment. From what he could gather, Cecil had lived in Night Vale his entire life. Carlos had listened to Cecil explaining his trip through Europe, but Cecil hadn't mentioned the homesickness. Maybe Carlos' experience really was an anomaly.

"What is it?" Cecil replied. "You look... _worried_."

Carlos sighed. He wanted to say something, but he was fretful of potentially embarrassing himself. "Yeah, I kind of have been." The scientist eventually managed. "You'll probably think this is completely out there, but... I really missed Night Vale. That's why I came home early."

Cecil's expression was unreadable, as usual. "Is that right?"

Maybe it would have been better not to bring it up at all. He assumed Cecil wasn't angry or upset, just probably trying to work out what he meant. Sometimes, Cecil genuinely had no frame of reference for the things Carlos said, and that was fine. Cecil was hardly sheltered, but he'd been so used to life in Night Vale that some of the most normal events in the outside world made him cringe or frown as he attempted to figure them out within his own experience.

Some of the things Carlos had told Cecil about life outside of Night Vale amused him greatly. Sometimes they even terrified him. _Why_ would you give the populace freedom of access to writing utensils? It was utterly bizarre to Cecil that Carlos had never met a librarian who had tried to bite his face off, and the Boy Scout movement outside of Night Vale involved no blood rituals whatsoever.

But it was nice to see Carlos coming around. Oh so _nice._

The Voice of Night Vale looked directly at Carlos. His hands cradled the scientist's jawline as he leaned in close. "It's only natural, Carlos." Soft lips gave him a quick peck on the nose. "Of course you're going to miss your home. Even if it is just for a few days."

Those were the words Carlos had wanted to hear. He ran them over in his head a few times, before pecking Cecil back. It may have been strange to be so suddenly struck with... well, he didn't know what to call it. The word 'homesick' didn't quite convey the longing he felt after being absent from Night Vale. But nothing could explain why, upon his return, the amount of relief had been in inverse proportion to the amount of misery he'd been feeling.

Which is why he embraced Cecil, clasping his arms around his boyfriend's back, nose resting on his shoulder. His eyes closed serenely. This was exactly what he needed right now.

When Cecil responded in kind, the short squeeze comforted Carlos immensely.

Until it wasn't quite a hug any more.

The feeling of comfort gradually fell away until Carlos felt trapped, choking on his fear. Cecil hadn't tightened his grip, but Carlos' mind produced the perfect illusion of how it felt to be caged, choking him and making him far too terrified to ever consider opening his eyes. It almost hurt, how tightly they were screwed shut.

Oh God, what was _happening_?

"Shh." A voice rippled, tinged with static. At the same time, it seemed to be burbling in a high-pitched frequency.

Carlos didn't even know if he could feel the ground beneath his feet any more. His body just didn't want to co-ordinate itself. The fight or flight instinct came to mind, but was quelled. Carlos' nostrils flared, his breath becoming more and more erratic. He was still clinging to Cecil, but he could sense something _else_ wrapping around him. Not physically, though.

It seemed to be settling around... he couldn't quite define it. He had felt a deep wound in his heart, the same way he'd felt when he'd broken up with his first love, but... it was as if it was being gently stroked over, until the pain lessened and lessened. Even the worry knotted in his stomach was being picked apart by deft and smooth fingers, until it was completely gone. A soft appendage stroked down his back, as if it knew exactly where to knead and flex out his tense muscles, and it was soon joined by several more.

"Cecil, what are you-" It took a huge effort to get the words out. Carlos felt himself slipping into a void of complete bliss, tinged with a distinct terror of what might happen if he were to ever come out of this embrace. His mind felt like it had expanded, but he couldn't sub-vocalise any coherent thoughts. Images, emotions, memories and the sounds of familiar figures rippled through his mind fleetingly.

It was as if the very essence of his being had relaxed into a heavy, somnambulant state. He was mildly cognizant of stimuli but it was just too _nice _to leave.

Which was why Carlos surprised himself when he was rudely snapped out of this perfect dream. The hallway of their condo started to melt back into Carlos' vision, as did the slightly hurt look on Cecil's face. Carlos had stumbled out of the radio host's embrace, small tremors rippling through his body.

"You pushed me." Cecil said blankly.

In a gesture of reassurance, Carlos took a short breath and smiled at him. That had felt better than anything else in the world.

All his worries had dissipated, his anxieties now pushed to the back of his mind.

Night Vale was everything. Night Vale was the town that had taken him in and given him all he wanted from life. Job satisfaction, the man of his dreams, a friendly community who had given him a full welcoming party and invitations to every event on the calendar. The town loved him that much. Why had he ever worried himself about Night Vale gripping around his heart? Of course he'd miss it. The one place in his adult life where he could feel completely at home... it only made sense that he'd want to come back.

"Did you just... hug my _soul_?" The scientist asked.

He knew it was a ridiculous question, but he'd long given up on the idea of anything being remotely normal in Night Vale. Carlos was hardly religious, but there was simply no other way to describe how a simple hug had brought him into a state of euphoria.

There had been terror tinged around the otherwise perfect dream, along with that strange white noise, humming and howling, pouring through the scientist's ears and buzzing along his spine, but he didn't care. He'd heard of people from his mother's church group who claimed that after visions of accepting the Holy Spirit into their lives, they had been healed from a vast array of ailments. Their souls had been cleansed, their spirits purified.

It wouldn't have surprised Carlos at this stage in their relationship if Cecil _did _reveal himself to be some form of deity. And frankly, he wasn't going to care one jot.

"Yes. I did." Cecil replied fluidly, taking a small step closer to Carlos. "You... were so _tense_, Carlos. I could barely take it, seeing you in such a state. So, I... well, I wanted all your hurt to go away."

"Well, it worked. Thanks."

"You're very welcome."

"Can we do it again some time?" Carlos asked, flashing that wonderful smile.

Cecil's hands balled up. Raising them to his mouth, he squeaked out: "Yes," before embracing Carlos again.

Only now it was Carlos' turn to give Cecil the best, soul-soothing hug he could muster. And already, lost in his warm embrace, Cecil exhaled blissfully over his boyfriend's shoulder.


End file.
